A woman has died after a tiger injured her inside a contained area at the Palm Beach Zoo, according to St. Mary's Medical Center spokesman Ryan Lieber.
2 Works for You sister station in Palm Beach, WPTV, is reporting that the victim was flown by Trauma Hawk to St. Mary's for treatment, according to Naki Carter, a zoo spokesperson.
She passed away after being in critical condition.
The tiger is a male Malayan tiger. Carter said the woman was very knowledgeable about the tigers and loved them dearly.
Following the incident, the tiger was tranquilized and rescue workers waited for the drugs to take effect before they could safely attend to the victim, according to West Palm Beach Police spokesperson Lori Colombino.
The zoo says that the situation was handled according to protocols that are in place for such incidents.
Colombino and the zoo say the tiger was contained in an area and that guests were not at risk.
A number of zoo guests were initially ushered into the gift shop as a precaution.
